Kin Young Pu
'Full name: '''Glorious and Most Blessed Realm of Kin Young, Grand Pu and Celestial Ruler of All that is on these Seas and Beneath Heaven. '''Cultural background: '''Kin nationals, various minor cultures amongst the surrounding archipelago. '''Language: '“Kingo” (The True Way of Speech, Sole Language of Those Who Should Speak), Imperial Yunjin (trade language), local dialects '''Religious influences: '''Royal family worship, minor Path of Spirits '''Population: '''Surprisingly large, concentrated on the eastern shore of the peninsula. '''Original settlement: '''Original permanent settlements in the region date from right after the Imperial Conquest, local nomadic population dates from far before that. '''Major exports: '''Gold, silver, whale blubber, sea lizard blubber, animal bones '''Major imports: '''Imperial luxuries, silk, steel, iron, bronze '''Disposition towards the Empire: '''Ambivalent, recently became an important trade partner but minor skirmishes and conflicts, especially on the seas with Crystal Islanders and Yunjin fishermen. Geography and History Many western nations call the Empire an arrogant bunch thinking they are the center of the world, but they have never met with the people of Kin Young Pu. The Kin peninsula stands apart from the Empire by a large stretch of very inhospitable tundra beyond Aijukan and high mountains, along with very dangerous seas, which would explain the fact the Empire never attempted to annex Kin Young Pu in the past. The peninsula is about the same size as the Eastern Expanse, making it smaller than most Imperial Provinces, but is highly populated for its size, with a majority of the people living on the eastern coast, which bathes in a warm sea current coming from the south. The south of the peninsula is mainly low plains, but as you move up north, high mountains with deep valleys and fjords make up the majority of the landscape. Winter is long, but rarely very hard, with temperatures on the eastern coast rarely falling below freezing, while the western coast is far colder. The nation of Kin Young Pu traces its history to the first king who unified the roaming tribes of herders and the various fishing villages into a unified group, with long and often bloody wars all along the peninsula. This first king, the Virile Pu of Kin as he became known, was also the first man to exhibit the odd and hardly explainable ability of the Kin nobles to control various beasts directly with their mind. Seeing such gift as the ultimate expression of power, the Pu claimed divine ancestry and formed an entire religion over his ability, which was inherited by his many descendants (he was called Virile for a reason, having 60 wives, all of which he had children with and that went on to form the core of the Kin Young Pu nobility in the future). Over the years, the Kin Young Pu realm occasionally entered conflicts with the Empire, more often as short raids or “wars” which were barely recorded by the Bureaucracy, always opposing the Yunjin or Aijukan to the strange armies of the realm. Crystal Isle pirates were also sometimes involved in skirmishes with the Kin military, but the Pirate Kings were never involved in any true “wars” against the Kin. The realm did pacify and crush opposition on the nearby archipelago and imposed their truth to them over the year. Economy The main economic activities in Kin revolve around whaling, hunting sea lizards and mining in the northern mountains. Whale meat and especially whale blubber is in high demand within the realm, and exportation of blubber to the Empire has grown over time. Sea lizard meat and blubber is in lower demand, but many alchemists within Kin and in the far west have been known to demand it in large quantities. Gold and silver is plentiful in the mountains of the north, making it not the prized metal it is everywhere else, with the rare iron and copper mines being a lot more important to the Kin crown, but allows them to export goods at a very good price. Wheat and barley are the staple crops of the region, with recently imported potatoes from Aijukan bulking up the production in the much cooler regions of the peninsula. In recent times, the trade deficit of the peninsula with the Empire has been growing, the Kin crown relying heavily on imported metals and textile to support their military and pacified territories. Military The military on Kin Young Pu is based almost entirely on their mighty war beasts and the supernatural ability of the Kin nobility to control them. Military technology and equipment is mostly based around this, and due to the limited conflicts with foreign powers, a lot of the non-beast military is built around fighting oversized creatures as well. The lack of horses on the peninsula means an absence of typical cavalry units in the Kin military, but quite a few war beasts were tamed over the years to allow riders on them, including the mighty war mammoths. Infantry units are mostly armed with various forms of polearms, ranging from long pikes to hacking poleaxes, depending on their roles on the battlefield, but most of them are lightly armored with leather and the odd piece of iron or bronze to protect their vital organs. The infantrymen role usually revolves around protecting a noble which controls various beasts to smash into the enemy line and kill their commander. Nobles are usually armed and armored far more than typical footmen, both as a status symbol but also because if they were to die, some of their beasts might simply start rampaging in the lines, killing their own soldiers. Magical theory is far more refined in Kin Young Pu as well compared to the Empire, where superstition and pacts make up most of the magical ability of the common folk (not to be mistaken with the sorcery of the Onmyou, which is far ahead of the Kin’s own abilities, but not accessible to the majority), and military application of magic is more widespread to support various creatures. The war beasts range from simple overgrown wolves native to the northern mountains of the peninsula to the immense war mammoths. Depending on his skills and aptitude, a single noble can control anywhere between 4 to 20 creatures, which they arm and armor best they can. Creatures are trained from birth most of the time to work with their human partners and are selected for their intelligence between any other traits, so that they can be both driven by mind-control and simple commands from non-nobles as well. Predatory animals are preferred, of course, but large herbivores are sometimes used as pack beasts or as battering rams, like the wooly rhinoceros. Predatory birds are often used as scouts and skirmishers, while predatory flightless birds replace light cavalry in many cases. Odder monsters have been seen being led by some of the richer and more powerful nobles, like hybrids of birds and lizards walking on two legs, cursed men taking the form of wolves or other beasts and even, in one case, an animated statue. Kin navy is surprisingly well equipped. While most of them do not rely on artillery pieces or cannons, they are often drawn in water by giant sea reptiles or whales controlled by the ship captain, as if they were chariots rather than boats. Warships often do not even have rigging and masts, relying solely on this beast power to move the ship, which is heavily armored and filled with raiders, ready to board other ships. Those boarders are often armed with heavy hacking tools, like axes, to damage the enemy ship but also to pierce the skin of some of the smaller beasts that can be transported by ships. The sea surrounding the battle is often filled with voracious monsters as well, controlled by captains and other nobles, making sure nobody survives a trip in the water. In terms of merchant navy, this does bring another advantage to the Kin, as they do not have to worry about some of the more dangerous waters as their own beasts would protect their ships. Some Kin ships have reportedly been seen all the way to the Long Wave Archipelago on trading expeditions. Culture Kin culture is quite varied depending on where on the peninsula or the neighboring archipelago one watches, but there are quite a few important trademarks of their culture which stands out. First and foremost is the absolute self-centeredness and arrogance of the Kin, which view them as the peak of human society. Until very recently, no non-Kin were able to speak their language as it was seen as a grave crime to teach it to any foreigner, as it would dilute its purity. Only a few skilled merchants and discerning Onmyou were ever able to learn Kin, and usually not because they were taught, but because they caught it and began understanding it working with the inhabitant of the peninsula. Marriage with someone from outside the peninsula is also unheard of, and even citizens of the archipelago are not allowed to marry with mainlanders, and even intimacy between those two is usually punished with a death sentence for both parties. Kin Young Pu poetry is very close to the old Yunjin styles, quite likely being inspired by the same basis, with rhythmic syllables and line lengths being the metric for quality in poetry. Life of various monarchs and other religious themes are the primary driving force behind the art. Visual arts are concentrated on the manufacture of wall scrolls on imported paper, usually depicting wonderful creatures and divine figures leading them to war, all highly stylized. Another important art in the peninsula is earthenware, with clay jugs, medallions and other baked earth being carved and painted into beautiful works of art, but this form of art is mainly done by peasants and other lower classes, many of which are happy to sell it to travelling Islander merchants, which appreciate the quality of the work. The Kin people have a love of fish and seafood which is comparable to the Tarigani, but their way of preparing it is often quite different. Rather than eating it raw, or even cooking their fish in a stew or in a stir-fry, the Kin have a love for fermented fish, the more fermented, the better. Various methods of fermentation are used, from simply leaving the fish in barrels with a light pickling solution to burying large quantities of fish in a gutted seal, small whale or sea lizard, to vary the taste, leaving it there for a season or so. Honey is the primary sugaring agent used on the peninsula, with maple sugar being used in some of the richer households. In terms of alcohol, mead and beer are the most common drinks used by the majority, with imported rice wine and Nittan wine being a highly refined drink only available to the highest courts. Many of the meals are also accompanied by beets and cranberries, which grow easily on most of the peninsula and that the locals have mastered in terms of proper preparation and cooking. Category:Non-Imperial territories Category:Kin Young Pu